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"If just half of New Zealand’s light vehicles were electric and plugged into [vehicle-to-grid], they would be able to push out the equivalent power of all of our nation’s power stations combined," says Queenstown Electrification Accelerator (QEA) lead Josh Ellison. That's the promise of V2G and the NZ Herald's Chris Keall has looked into the potential and pitfalls of the technology (paywalled).
The QEA and EECA are kicking off the country's biggest V2G trial in Queenstown and it will run for the next 18 months. The goal is to examine how consumers use the technology and iron out any technical issues so it can be rolled out smoothly nationwide. While cars that run appliances (often known as V2L) or charge other EVs is now common, V2G is not universal and there are lingering concerns among owners about voiding warranties, but manufacturers like BYD and new Chinese brand Zeekr are on board for the trial and are prooviding exemptions.
BYD General Manager Warren Wilmot says "it will include V2G as a standard, warranty-covered feature across all models by 2027".
As well as the savings from either avoiding high peak charges or the payments from exporting, there is also the added security. These big batteries could be crucial in the event of an emergency where the grid goes down.
As Ellison says: “Cars store a lot of energy. When that’s in a petrol tank, it’s not good for much else than driving ... With electric cars, you’re now getting a battery that can be used to power your home or your business. A new electric car has about three or four days of household energy in its battery.” And when you factor in solar, these batteries can keep being charged.
Find out more about the trial here.
When Mike Casey bought his house near Cromwell, it came with gas bottles on the side of the home for water and an expensive diesel system for the underfloor heating. He replaced both of them with a Steibel Eltron system and it's been saving him money ever since. As technical manager Bhawesh Singh told him at the Electrify Queenstown conference, there has been a big influx in enquiries from homes looking to get off the molecules and onto electrons.
Read moreDownloadConfidence that cutting regulations to make solar power more accessible - won't jeopardise people's safety. A new Regulation Ministry reports laid out a potential blueprint to legalise plug-in solar and reduce the time and cost of panel installation. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey shares his thoughts with Andrew Dickens.
The burgeoning demand for solar was also a chance to address a mismatch between the numbers of training opportunities available and young people searching for work, Casey said. "The mums of New Zealand are telling me that there's not enough apprenticeships for their kids and the solar installers of New Zealand are telling me there's not enough trained people."
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